Akira Sendoh
(仙道 彰''Sendō Akira''?) is Ryonan's ace and is considered one of the top players in Kanagawa. An easygoing person, Sendoh usually has a smile on his face whether on-court or off. He can be lazy at times and has a reputation for arriving late to practice sessions and matches. His tardiness is tolerated though, because of his abilities. One of his hobbies is fishing, and he has a taste for lemons. His teammates trust him wholeheartedly, firmly believing that he can lead Ryonan to victory even if they are trailing. However he was outplayed by Eiji Sawakita back in junior high. Personalities Sendoh is known to be an easygoing person. He usually doesn't take much of anything seriously but when it comes to basketball, he seems to enjoy accepting challenges, mostly on one on one games. Though he is a happy go lucky guy, everyone in his team respects him for being a team leader and an ace player of the basketball team. Abilities Sendoh's all-round skills and baskeball intelligence are repeatedly displayed throughout the series. He is capable of playing a one-on-one style of play like Rukawa. In manga chapter 177, "Scoring Machine", Ryonan forward Ryoji Ikegami recalls Sendoh's 47-point performance as a rookie and calls him an unstoppable "scoring machine". Sendoh changed his play style in the his sophomore year as he accumulated more experience and knowledge of the game of basketball. Sendoh understands how to utilize his teammates effectively. Against Kainan, Sendoh was deployed as a Point Guard, but transformed himself into a deadly scorer when the game was on the line. He also has the ability to make consecutive succesful 3 point plays while drawing a foul from the opponent as seen against Miyagi and Akagi . In the second match against Shohoku, he traded shots with Rukawa. Sendoh succeeds Uozomi as captain after he and Ikegami leave the team. Notable Matches Ryonan vs. Shohoku (Practice Game) Sendoh arrives late, much to his teammates' and coach's chagrin. He apologizes, saying he overslept, and his Coach is forced to forgive him, since he was so honest. In the first part of the game, Sendoh takes it easy, and passes the ball to his teammates, not making much of an effort to score. But when Shohoku reveals itself to be a lot more powerful than Ryonan had estimated, Sendoh starts getting serious. At one point, he manages to get past Sakuragi and Rukawa when the two were teaming up on him in an attempt to prevent him scoring. It is in this game that Rukawa begins looking upon him as a rival. Toward the end of the game, when it seems that Shohoku just might win, Sendoh scores from under both Akagi 's and Rukawa's arms, and wins the game for Ryonan. Ryonan vs. Kainan Much to everyone's surprise, Sendoh plays as point guard in this game. Initially, it seems as if Sendoh is not an experienced enough point guard, and that his height makes it difficult for him to function as such. With the combination of his height and court vision, he soon proved himself to be a highly capable playmaker as he makes one precise pass after another to his teammates for easy scoring opportunities. He manages to astound the everyone in the stadium, including Maki, with his play. Owing to his passes, Ryonan was able to secure a very significant lead over Kainan in the first half. But when Kainan begins showing its true colors, Sendoh turns into a deadly scorer. With only a few seconds left in the game, Sendoh manages to tie the score at 79, after Maki sees through his plan of making him foul him so that Sendoh could get the additional free throw. Ryonan loses the game in overtime. Ryonan vs. Shohoku (Kanagawa Tournament) Sendoh played a major role as a team leader in the game between Ryonan and Shohoku. When Uozumi was called foul four times, he is subbed by the other member to keep him from being out in the game early. Sendoh replaced him from being the captain and creating the game play. Since there is no center that can match Akagi, Sendoh has to play a big task to keep the Shohoku from scoring. Though they are times where they cannot score, just some encouragement from Sendoh gives Ryonan a good morale to continue on fighting and for benchwarmers to give a positive cheer. But unexpected to Ryonan's coach Coach Taoka, thinking that Sakuragi is Shohoku's weakness, he is also the Ryonan's weakness. The result ended to be Shohoku's victory and enters the Inter High League. Relationships Kaede Rukawa Sendoh and Rukawa are similar in skill level, but during a 1 on 1 matchup, Sendoh can easily get by Rukawa and score under his nose. During their second meeting, Sendoh continued to show that he can control the flow of a game. Prior to the IH tournament, Rukawa went to Ryonan High to challenge Sendoh to another game of 1 on 1 after Coach Anzai mentioned that he had to yet to match Sendoh's level. The two played til dusk and their game ended in a tie. Sendoh commented after that Rukawa plays the same way whether it is in an organized game or in a 1 on 1 and that he has yet to maximize his full potential as a player. Shinichi Maki Maki is known to be the strongest player in Japan for Kainan having 17 consecutive wins in Kanagawa Region. Uozumi believes that he cannot defeat Maki but Sendoh is able to surpass him. When Uozumi fouled out, Sendoh led the game in his absence. He then went head-on against Maki and matched him effectively despite the pressure he was under, ending the second half in a tie. Overtime is called, but the game ended in a loss without Uozumi. Eiji Sawakita Although only briefly mentioned in the series, Sendoh could not win against Sawakita during middle school. He isn't able to remember his name clearly, as he inadvertently told Rukawa that his name was "Kitasawa." Anime and Manga Differences The anime had a filler episode which the members of Shoyo visits Shohoku gym as they go to the Inter High. Since the team will go on a practice game, Shoyo members Fujima and Hanagata joined their practice so as Uozumi and Ikigami. Aida, Hikoichi's sister looked for Sendoh to join the game who is seen fishing. He is the last player to join the practice game and had a one on one again against Rukawa. Trivia *Sendoh forgot the player he can't win against during middle school. He thought his name is Kitasawa, who is actually Sawakita. *Maki stop from blocking Sendoh when he is going to shoot the ball reaching the end of the second half. He realized Sendoh is actually waiting for him to reach him and block it, having the game an overtime. Category:Characters Category:Basketball Players Category:Point Guards Category:Small Forwards Category:Kanagawa Players Category:High School 2nd Years